Save Aether (The Trinity Key Trilogy Book 3)

by L. M. Fry

  He cupped his hands and breathed into them. “Oh, okay then, let’s get straight to it. Let’s focus on the flow of aether. Tell me how you reach out for it.”

  “Well, Lawly, it’s just there.”

  He scowled at the nickname and sighed, “In detail please.”

  “I think about it and boom.” She snapped her fingers for effect. “It’s there.”

  The doctor groaned, “Fine, fine. Gather it up, and I want you to focus on this pen.”

  She did as she was told. The metallic taste filled her mouth, and she aimed at the quill in his hand. Even though she put all of her energy into it, the only thing she created were wispy snowflakes that floated from her hands and dropped onto the table. The doctor touched one of the flakes, melting it between his fingers.

  “Ice, of course, that explains it.” He raised an eyebrow and tugged on his coat as if just now realizing why the temperature dropped.

  He grumbled under his breath. Although, Julia’s performance was less than spectacular, she grinned. She enjoyed his frustration. A sly smile appeared on his face, and she grew suspicious.

  “You seem to be inhibited.” He scribbled in his notebook. “It’s not surprising really.”

  “What’s not?”

  “Well, simply said, Theo’s powers are clearly more… advanced than yours.” He tapped his chin with the pen. “Perhaps it’s an intellectual variance?”

  “Are you saying that she’s smarter than I am?”

  He shrugged. The steely tang overwhelmed her tongue, and the room became a freezer. Once again, she lashed out at the target, producing more snow. Frustration gripped her, and each time she tried to create ice, she got weaker. This was unacceptable. Theo was not smarter than she. Julia was just too stressed.

  “Stop, stop. You’re going to burn yourself out,” Dr. Lawless said.

  “My inability to perform has nothing to do with my intellect. How is anyone supposed to work in these conditions?” She threw her arms wide. “I’ve been locked up in a tiny cell, without proper amenities or food.”

  Yes, she was in a grand ballroom. Yes, the cuffs were gone. Yes, Lawly over there was treating her with some respect. Yet, she was being held against her will by strangers – the irony of it all. She’d have to remember to apologize to Valera… when it suited her.

  “I apologize for the accommodations. I’ll speak with the True Follower’s council about it post haste. I’m sure we can come to a more amicable solution, although it may take some convincing. You girls are somewhat… unpredictable.”

  “If you can get me out of the cell, and provide some fresh clothes and a bath, then I’m sure my abilities will progress much faster.”

  She wasn’t expecting him to give in so easily. Not that she trusted him, but her resolve was slipping. She rubbed her palms on her pants, crossed her arms, and then dropped them to her lap. He scribbled another note and closed the book.

  “I think we’ve done enough for today. The guard will return you to your cell. Hopefully, we’ll have you better situated soon.”

  The guard ushered her back without ever touching her. She slunk to the ground in the gloom of her prison. A migraine rotted a hole through her skull, and all she wanted to do was rest. Within minutes, the voices started up in her head.

  How’d it go? Theo asked.

  What if I’m next? Valera interrupted. What happened in there? Was it awful?

  Valera, you’re giving me a headache. Please, shut up. Julia snapped. Everything is fine. Lawless says he’s going to help. We’ll see.

  Julia closed her eyes and drifted. Once again, the image of Danu floated around her thoughts. Her voice called out for help. No matter how many times Julia pushed the dream away, it always returned.

  I think… I think someone’s at my door, Valera shrieked, waking Julia from her tormented doze.

  Julia heard several voices outside the cells. One of them was Dr. Lawless. Her door opened.

  “The True Follower’s council would like to speak with you.” Dr. Lawless poked his head into the dismal space. “And I am here to escort you.”

  The guards were gone, although Julia suspected they were close by. She was glad to see Valera and Theo waiting in the hall. Dr. Lawless’ grin widened.

  “There something… mystical about seeing all three of you together. It’s like the reincarnation of the sisters themselves. Shall we?” He waved an arm toward the courtroom.

  Slammy was on his perch, as snobbish as ever. He eyed the girls from over his upturned nose. Julia automatically went to the middle, but Dr. Lawless cleared his throat and ushered her over to the spectators’ chairs. When she opened her mouth to speak. His finger went to his lips.

  “Just be quiet and behave.” He winked, and then began, “Grand Elder, we humbly beg your pardon.”

  Julia rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut. Lawly’s pageantry seemed to make Slammy extra portentous. He placed his hands on his belly and leaned back. His chair creaked under his weight.

  “I’m listening.”

  “After spending time with the girls and explaining the true path, they’ve decided to honor Danu and join the True Followers in our quest.”

  What? Wait a second, I didn’t agree to this.

  Just go with it, Julia. Theo snapped back.

  “Well, isn’t this a fortunate turn of events. I wasn’t sure these... children could be reasoned with.”

  “Yes, fortunate indeed. As initiates of the True Followers, I ask that they be moved to the chambers tower. They will remain under my guidance of course.”

  Slammy rubbed his chin with his over-stuffed sausage-like fingers.

  “I will grant your request, if… they vow allegiance to me.”

  Hell no, Julia spat. Let’s bust out of here and free Danu ourselves. We don’t need Dr. Lawless or anyone else.

  We’re not actually going to swear fealty or anything. We need the help, especially you Julia. Keep the goal in mind.

  Theo’s assertion that Julia needed help from the doctor unnerved her. Julia knew her skills were weak, but she could learn on her own. Slammy turned on my grandmother. That’s her chair he’s crushing up there.

  Valera chimed in, I don’t know, Theo. This seems kind of… wrong.

  He’ll pay for what he did to your grandma, Julia. But right now, we have to play his game. We can’t free Danu on our own.

  Julia hated to admit it, but Theo was right. They didn’t know where Danu’s tomb was. They needed the artifacts and the Trinity Key, and they didn’t know where they were being kept They had little choice.

  Julia sighed, “I swear allegiance to the True Followers.”

  “I do too,” Theo and Valera said in unison.

  Slammy Magee lifted his gavel and slammed it. Julia covered her ears. He needed serious psychological help for his gavel fetish.

  “You are dismissed,” Slammy proclaimed. Before he left the room, he turned to the girls. “However, understand this – one misstep, and you’ll regret it.”

  He lumbered from the room as if he were the king of Aether. Julia hated him, and she wasn’t so fond of the doctor either. Dr. Lawless bowed in front of the girls. He seemed awfully proud of himself. He may have gotten them out of the cells, but they were still captive. However, Julia was one step closer to getting out.

  Dr. Lawless took the girls through a skywalk to a second, smaller tower. The three-story glass building held the white robes’ living chambers. The whole building was like a giant atrium with three levels of rooms surrounding a central corkscrew staircase. At their arrival, white robes looked over the railings and watched Theo, Julia, and Valera ascend the stairs to the last floor.

  "Don't wander around the chambers tower without a guide. Things are in a state of chaos with the new leadership change. Not everyone agrees with the beliefs of the True Followers, and you may end up being a target of their discontent. I’ve taken the liberty of acquiring three rooms, which were recently vacated by deserters who found themselves on the
wrong side of the coup and refused to accept the new authority.”

  “In other words, they were tossed out along with Parmelia,” Julia muttered.

  Dr. Lawless cleared his throat and ignored the gibe. “There is a communal bathroom at the end of the hall. You’ll find a change of clothes in the closet."

  Julia walked into her worst nightmare. It was bad enough that she was in a strange city, but they put her in a room with pink flowers on the walls and frilly bedding. The goody-two-shoeness of it made her teeth ache. Worst yet, the room smelled like roses. She was a parrot in a fancy birdcage.

  Her academy instincts kicked in. She rummaged through the drawers and closets, looking for anything useful. All she found were clean undergarments and a plain white robe in the dresser. If these were the clothes Dr. Lawless spoke of, she’d stay in her stinky old leathers.

  “This is worse than the academy,” she spoke aloud to the empty room. “What I wouldn’t give for a cot and cold stone walls.”

  "I don't know. . . I kind of like it," Valera chirped, poking her head in the door. “It reminds me of home.”

  "You would," Julia groaned.

  Theo walked in behind Valera and cringed. "I'm with Julia on this one. It's over the top. Mine is pretty much the same except in yellow.”

  "I don't know why you are complaining. At least we are out of those nasty cells, and we’ve got all the necessities up here,” Valera huffed.

  Julia shook her head. "I don’t know about you, but all I need is a shower and sleep.”

  She saluted the girls and marched to the communal bathroom. Copper pipes lined the sterile white tile walls between shower stalls. The room reminded her of the academy bathrooms. It seemed that ugly tile and tiny showers were a staple in all institutional dormitories – even the human high school had a similar looking locker room. Fresh white towels sat on shelves, so she took one and shed her clothes. She washed the last few days of grime from her body, spending a luxurious few extra minutes under the hot water. Wrapping the towel around herself, she went to get her clothes. The pile she’d left on the floor was gone.

  “Hello?”

  No one answered.

  “Damnit, who took my clothes?”

  Still no answer. She snuck out into the hall, wearing only the towel. Her own room was empty, so she knocked on Theo’s door.

  “She just went to have a shower,” a white-robed Valera called from her doorway.

  “Someone stole my clothes!” Julia growled.

  “No one stole them. A nice woman came by and collected all our clothes. She said she would clean them and bring them back.”

  Julia grumbled, “What am I supposed to wear then?”

  Valera gave her a dubious look. “They gave us robes.”

  Julia shook her head and grumbled, “No way! They’re trying to convert us, Valera. And you’re just going along with it?”

  Valera put her hands on her hips. “You can go around naked if you prefer, but I’m going to clean up and stay comfortable. So if you’ll excuse me.”

  Valera headed for the bathroom. Julia stood in the hallway wrapped in her now damp towel and shivered. A group of white robes walked past her hall and stared at her.

  “What?” she huffed.

  They whispered to each other and passed by laughing. Miffed, Julia slipped into her room and slammed her bedroom door.

  “What a bunch of jerks,” she said to herself.

  “You must be Julia,” a male voice said behind her.

  She screamed and spun around. Julia suddenly felt like she’d eaten a spoonful of peanut butter. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, and she couldn’t speak. A strange guy looked at her up and down, tilted his head, and smirked. She stared at his soft brown eyes unable to look away. He crossed his well-muscled arms across his chest, and leaned against the wall, a white robe slung over his shoulder.

  “Are… you… Julia?” he spoke very slowly, as if she didn’t understand English.

  His sarcastic tone lit her fuse. The spell withered. She broke eye contact with him and scowled.

  “Yes, I’m Julia. Who are you and what are you doing in here?”

  His smirk never faltered. In one smooth motion, he stepped forward and held out a hand twice the size of hers. “Eli Jones, at your service.”

  “Good for you. Now get out!”

  She looked down at his hand, raised an eyebrow and turned away from him. She became very aware that she was wearing nothing but a towel. Keeping hold of the suddenly too-tiny cloth in one hand, she scrambled for the white robe with the other. He let her grab it, but didn’t leave.

  “Do you mind?” She yelled.

  “Not at all,” he quipped, still not leaving. “I won’t look.”

  He turned around and faced the wall. She slid the robe over her head, then shimmied into the nearby undergarments, all while hiding in the tent-like muumuu. He turned back around and chuckled. She refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how annoyed and vulnerable she felt. The door was unlocked if she needed to make a quick getaway. She sat on a chair and assessed his physique, trying to ignore the soft brown eyes boring into her forehead.

  “Not much of a talker, are you?” His voice sent a spark through her nerves.

  He sat on the edge of the bed with his ever-present smirk. A loose strand of dark hair slipped from the leather thong tied at the base of his neck. Hanging close to his eye, that one strand of hair made her own eye twitch. She wanted him to do something about it, but loathed the idea of revealing anything about herself. Casually brushing her damp hair behind her ears, she pretended he wasn’t there. He leaned back against the headboard, stretching his long legs in front of him and crossing his black boots on a crisp duvet.

  “Ugh.”

  She eyed his dirty boots and rolled her eyes. He ignored her disgust and stretched his broad shoulders. The movement tugged at the unclasped collar of his shirt, giving a hint of the firm muscle underneath. She tried not to gawk, but his presence was intrusive and impossible to ignore. Questions flew through her mind. Why wasn’t he wearing a white robe like everyone else? Why was he here? What were his intentions? Why did he make her feel so self-conscious?

  She settled for something simple. “Why are you still here?”

  “Parmelia, the leader of the Elders, sent me.” He seemed pretty smitten with himself. “I’m supposed to keep an eye on you. You know, make sure you stay out of trouble.” He closed his eyes and murmured, “Although you hardly seem worth the trouble.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “This seems like a waste of my talents. I mean, come on, look at you. You’re what? Fourteen? You’re just a kid.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Fourteen? Not even close.”

  His eyes opened and he looked her over. “Oh, sorry. Twelve?”

  “Ah… What? Uh… No. I’m almost seventeen, thank you very much.” She looked him over and determined he wasn’t much older than she was. “And who are you to call me a kid? How old are you? From the looks of you, I’d say no older than twenty.”

  “Nineteen – next month.”

  She didn’t know whether to be insulted that her grandmother sent a boy to look after her, or happy. He’d certainly be easy enough to slip if she needed to. Although, she had no idea why Parmelia had sent someone so… conceited.

  There’s some guy in my room named Eli Jones, claiming that Parmelia sent him. Julia reached out to Theo and Valera.

  What? Oh, no! Ow! Valera shrieked.

  Are you all right, Valera? Valera…

  No… no I’m okay. I just got soap in my eye.

  Good grief, you sounded like someone was stabbing you to death, Julia snapped.

  Theo chuckled. Parmelia probably thought we could use a little help. Is this Eli person trustworthy?

  I don’t know. He’s a sarcastic pretty boy, but harmless enough… I think. Get this. He’s only nineteen. And he’s one of the most arrogant, annoying, rude people I’ve ever met.

  Valera chimed
in, Sounds like a perfect fit then.

  Laugh it up, Valera.

  Eli cleared his throat. “You’re weird. Do you always stare blankly at people or is it just me?”

  His laugh disrupted the connection between the girls. Julia hadn’t realized she was staring straight at him as she spoke with Theo and Valera. Her cheeks burned. She hid her embarrassment behind her hands.

  “You’re so… annoying… and I’m not weird,” she hissed.

  “Touchy, aren’t we.”

  “Shut up.”

  “So what did you do anyway? I mean it must’ve been bad because the Elders split and the city is in complete pandemonium,” he quipped.

  “Shut up.”

  He sighed, “We might as well get to know each other since we’re stuck together.”

  She glared at him. “Shut up.”

  “Okay, fine. I’m going to check out the place. If you need anything—

  “I won’t.”

  Eli left the room, and Julia slammed the door behind him. He was undoubtedly the most insufferable person she’d ever met; and yet she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  Chapter Five

  Valera

  Julia? Are you still there? Valera asked.

  When Julia didn’t respond, Valera decided to sneak over to her room. In the hall she ran into an over-sized mass of muscles. He smiled down at her and bowed. His manners didn’t seem so horrible to Valera.

  “Well hello, I’m—

  “Eli Jones, I know.” Valera tapped her bottom lip with her finger. “Hmm, I don’t see why she was complaining. You seem nice enough to me. You’ll have to excuse Julia’s behavior. She can be a little prickly. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

  Valera waved to the confused looking man and skipped over to Julia’s door. He wandered down the hall shaking his head. Poking her head into Julia’s room, Valera inched her way in.

  “What do you want?” Julia hissed.

  “I’m just checking on you. I saw Eli in the hall. He’s kind of cute,” she chirped.

  Julia glared at her. “Traitor.”

  “Who’s a traitor?” Theo walked in and plopped onto Julia’s bed.